Secret of a Dragon (An HTTYD Story)

Chapter Five: A New Rivalry

It is a long walk back to the Great Hall in the pouring rain. Hiccup continually slips in the mud, giant raindrops plopping down onto his head when he grabs a tree for support. His foot finally gets so stuck in a mud pile that he can’t pull it out.

“Here, let me help,” says a voice just behind him.

Hands grasp his leg. Hiccup tenses his foot muscles as the person rips his boot from the messy puddle, and he finally turns to see who it is.

“What are you doing out here?” he blurts out.

Crystal shrugs. “I used to live here. I have to come back every now and then, because otherwise I just miss it too much.”

Hiccup can’t understand, and she seems to realize that. “It’s okay,” she says quickly. “You’ve probably lived in Berk your whole life.”

He nods. “Thanks, by the way.”

“Oh, that was no problem. It happens to everyone.”

She flashes him a smile, and turns away. She prances ahead, leaping over the mud trap easily and moving at a pace faster than Hiccup would have thought possible.

“How do you do that?” he said in awe.

She shrugs again. “It used to be a problem for me, too, but I got used to it. The trick is to jump over as much as you can and land on areas that aren’t squishy.”

“How can you tell?”

“Well -- um -- it’s hard to explain. See that right there?” Crystal points. “That’s not as wet. You could jump onto that, then jump over there --” Her finger moves “-- and then come over to where I am.”

Hiccup does as she suggested, and found that it is quite easy. She leads the way as they jump between the trees. It is only when she looks up and says, “We’re gonna be late,” that Hiccup remembers the arena.

“By the way,” he says casually, “remember earlier, in the arena? How did you know that dragon was a female?”

“Oh -- you heard? Well, um, it’s just a, sort of, ability that I developed living in the forest. ’Cause, you know, dragons live here too?”

“They do?” Hiccup says quickly, looking around warily.

Crystal laughs. “Well, not really live here. But when they come to raid, a few stay in here before and after to get ready and rest.”

They had paused on a small area around a tree. Hiccup’s hair is plastered to his head, and his clothes are stuck to his skin everywhere. The water in Crystal’s hair makes it look brown, and rains drips off the edges. Only then does Hiccup realize how close they are, and the situation suddenly becomes awkward as Crystal’s eyes widen, apparently having the same thought. They hastily take a step back, but Hiccup stupidly forgets about the mud. Crystal reaches out and grabs his hand, pulling him up, and her amused face is marred only by brilliantly red cheeks. They pause for a second, Crystal rubbing her arm and Hiccup the back of his head.

“How about we, um…” mumbles Crystal, “get going?”

“Yeah,” says Hiccup, relieved. They set off, but by no means has the strangeness of their encounter worn off. When they finally reach the Great Hall, they are both dripping and shivering to the bone. Hiccup pushed open the door as Gobber says, “Alright, where did Astrid go wrong in the ring today?”

“I mistimed my somersault dive. It was sloppy,” she says. “It threw off my reverse tumble.”

“Can you talk in a language we actually understand?” muttered Crystal. Hiccup nearly laughs. She definitely has some nerve, talking to Astrid like that. No one else would dare.